Castlevania: Elegy for the Damned
by Rougue
Summary: In 2074, a new world has arisen from the chaos of the early 21st Century. But now forces are arranging to bring back darkness to the world. It is up to Julia Belmont and Alucard to stop them. But not all stories can end happily ever after.
1. Prologue: Dirty Business Gone Wrong

And now, from Rougue Productions...

**CASTLEVANIA:**

**ELEGY FOR THE DAMNED**

DICLAIMER: This story was created by me for the sake of other's entertainment and not for profit. Castlevania and all its assorted characters are owned by Komani, not me.

All the characters in this story are fictional. Any similarities to any real person; living, dead or undead; are purely coincidental.

SUMMARY: A new world has emerged from the chaos of the early 21st Century. But in 2074, the forces of chaos arise once again, and the horrible structure is summoned back from the powers binding it in the solar eclipse. Two brave warriors step forward to overcome this evil. However, before their adventure is over, a sacrifice must be made, or else all will be lost in an instant. The heroes don't always get to live happily ever after...

And now, lets go to the show!

**Prologue: Dirty Business Gone Wrong**

Justin Belmont knew he was walking a fine line as he walked down the street in Bucharest, Romania on May 19, 2074, wearing an old-fashioned business suit and carrying a large, black, leather briefcase in his right hand. His blue eyes scanned his surroundings as he swept his left hand through his short blonde hair. He also felt the early-afternoon sun on his back as he walked forward.

Justin smiled as he looked around. Much had changed from the days when many thought the saving of mankind and civilization to be a lost cause. On the street, Justin saw buses, trams and the occasional car fly past him. Fifty years ago, this street would have been locked up by traffic, but now the story was totally different. Most of the vehicles were older models of vehicles, using solar power to drive their motors, but Justin noticed the occasional newer model vehicles, which were powered by super-efficient fusion engines.

And Justin did not overlook the fact that the streets were safe to walk on. Fifty years before, the streets of many eastern European countries resembled warzones. From Moscow to Kiev to Bucharest to Athens and Istanbul, the major cities were turned into battlefields where secular government forces clashed almost daily with Islamic terrorists, bent on turning Europe into an outpost of their beliefs. Suicide bombings and assassinations were almost daily events in the Romanian capital city, which was a particularly heated conflict zone. However, The Great Reforms which took place worldwide between 2025 and 2050 effectively destroyed the base of the disgruntled poor that these terrorists had once recruited from. Slowly but surely, the violence ended and Islamic Fundamentalism, which appeared unstoppable only a generation ago, was effectively dead.

Many people of Justin's generation, the first born into this new world (Justin was born in 2044), took all these liberties for granted. Justin was not among them. His own mother, Raisha Bashir who was born in Syria, was saved from a life of hopelessness and poverty by The Great Reforms. She was recruited and placed in some of the best schools in Germany, and then moved to Romania where she met Mark Belmont, Justin's father. Justin owed his existence to a legacy of violence, a legacy that he would always keep in mind and pass on to his children.

Justin stopped at a building which had been converted into a post office around the time Justin had been born. Inside, however, was a memorial to a ghastly incident of the violence from which the new world had been born. On April 13, 2027, a dozen men wearing government uniforms entered what was then a school. They were actually terrorists with orders to take everyone in the school hostage and demand concessions from the Romanian government, including the release of known terrorists from prisons and the appointment of suspected fundamentalist sympathizers to key government offices. In response, after a six-hour standoff, government soldiers sneaked into the school via the sewer system and were able to take the terrorists by surprise, killing all 12 simultaneously without harm to the children.

Or so it seemed initially. What no one could have known, outside of the terrorists themselves, was that the terrorists were meant to be suicide bombers. Each of the twelve terrorists was wearing a vest packed with high explosives underneath his uniform. All were rigged with a dead man's switch, designed to set the bombs off when its wearer's heartbeat dropped to under 20 beats per minute. Even worse, one switch going off would instantly set off all the others.

The results were horrific. Only seconds after the soldiers indicated the situation was resolved, 12 bombs went off inside the school simultaneously, killing almost everyone inside and leaving the school a smoking ruin. The incident was meant to rattle the people so badly that they would simply give up against an enemy willing to go to such lengths to get their way, and it worked that way initially. But once The Great Reforms began to take effect, public opinion changed from despair to outrage. In 2030, the mastermind behind the bombing was captured by vigilantes and brought to where Justin now stood and was executed (due to the flagrant disregard the terrorists showed toward the legal system, the government had all but encouraged vigilantism against known terrorists at the time). Justin often walked by this building to remind himself of the violence that his generation tried to ignore and hide, thinking it not to be part of their new world. But Justin knew otherwise. To ignore the past is to forget the past, and to forget the past was to be condemned to live it again. And this could not happen, under any circumstances.

"Justin! Snap out of that trance, dammit!" Justin heard from his right.

He turned to find a young man walking toward him. He was also wearing an old-fashioned business suit and was carrying a large black briefcase. This man was slightly shorter than Justin and had green eyes and brown hair which was fashioned into a flat top which Justin thought looked ridiculous. "Francis! Good to see you too!" he replied as he walked over and shook his free hand, "You ready to do this?"

Francis and Justin entered law school in Bucharest as members of the same class after they had attended different universities beforehand. Like Justin, Francis Mauscu felt a dedication to preserving a memory of the past due to a personal connection with that past. Francis's father was one of the few survivors of the Bucharest School Massacre of 2027. His father had never actually told him about his experience on that day, but it was something that Francis knew troubled him often. Justin attributed this to survivor's guilt.

"This better go down as planned," Francis replied as the two waited for a moment where they could cross the street safely, "I know I owe you for all those times you helped me in law school, but I didn't think you'd mean like this."

"Neither did I, to be honest," Justin replied as they began to cross the street with a brisk walk, "But I got a call from home about a month ago, saying that they needed this stuff. I know this is dangerous, but I have assurances that this is the way to go."

"The things you do for your family," Francis retorted as they got on the sidewalk on the other side of the street and began walking down the street again, "Seriously, I've never seen any of them. Where do they live?"

This was a question that Justin never liked to answer to those he knew, not because he was ashamed of his past, but because he knew that no one outside of the world he grew up in would get it. "They live in western Wallachia," he replied, "A whole different world from here in Bucharest."

"Western Wallachia?" Francis replied, "Sheesh, I thought there were only those small hamlets from hundreds of years ago out there. You grew up in one of those?"

"Yeah, I did," Justin answered, "It wasn't always easy, but you get a real appreciation about what's important when you grow up like that. I feel like a lot of us are missing those things nowadays."

"Yeah, you're probably right, but how did you get out of there?" Francis responded, "Most people born into those villages just stay there forever, like the peasants of feudal times."

"While I appreciate all the lessons that place taught me, I knew that I wasn't meant to stay there," Justin replied, "And my family knew that too, so they helped me get into college here in Bucharest and now I find myself about to break the law. Maybe I should have stayed in that hamlet."

"Nah, this'll go off without a hitch," Francis assured, "And in case things do get ugly, I'm packing." He then opened his sport coat slightly to reveal a handgun inside.

"Yeah, me too," Justin said, "This is just too dangerous a thing to go through without some insurance."

The conversation ended as the two men entered an alley between two office buildings. Both men pulled out sunglasses from their pockets and put them on, hiding their eyes from sight. They stopped midway through and waited.

A few minutes later, two Arabic men, about 10 years older than Justin and Francis, appeared from the other side of the alley, both carrying a black briefcase with them and wearing more casual attire then Justin or Francis. They got within a few feet of them and placed a device on the ground between them.

"An electronic jammer," the man explained, "No cops, no fuss. Understood?"

Justin simply nodded. "Show us the goods," he requested.

"Show us the money first," the other Arabic man demanded. Both spoke Romanian passably, but certainly were not fluent in it.

Justin nodded at Francis curtly, and both brought up their briefcases and opened them. Inside, the Arabic men found what they wanted.

"One hundred thousand Euros in used five and ten bills, as you requested," Justin explained, "Random serial numbers. These will be completely untraceable."

"Let us test them," the first man asked as he approached the money and grabbed a random stack of bills out of each case and examined them carefully.

"Satisfied?" Justin asked after about a minute.

"Yes, they're real," the man answered as he put the bills back and Justin and Francis shut their cases, "Now, I assume you'd like to examine your merchandise."

"Absolutely," Justin answered.

The man motioned to his partner, and they brought up their cases and opened them. "The finest opium you can find, harvested in the fields of Afghanistan only a week ago. Five kilograms, as you requested."

Francis was now visibly nervous. "Is he a cop?" the second man inquired as he looked at Francis.

"No, he's just not used to this sort of thing," Justin answered as he stepped forward and examined the opium. Each case contained small, sealed plastic bags, each containing a small amount of opium. Justin picked up a random bag from each briefcase and examined the opium inside. After a minute, Justin was sure this was the real deal. "You got yourselves a deal," he said as he put the bags back in the cases.

"You didn't open the bags," the first man noted, "Are you a doctor?"

"No, but I have worked with one before," Justin explained, "I think you'd like his methods. Old-fashioned, but effective."

"Not enough of those people around now," the second man said as the four began exchanging briefcases with each other, "Good doing business with you two."

"Likewise," Justin replied as the first man picked up his jamming device off the ground and walked past Justin and Francis and out of the alley.

"Is that it?" Francis inquired as he and Justin began walking forward through the alley.

"Yeah, now we just need to get this back to my place and I'll take care of the rest," Justin explained, "You'll receive a full reimbursement within the week."

Francis was too scared to ask how he would be getting that money back or what the opium would be used for. He was too scared, thinking that something was about to go wrong. Justin felt this tension immediately. His family all seemed to have a sixth sense for picking up on the emotions of others. It was one of the things that had kept them alive over the past thousand years. "Francis, don't worry. Things are going to be alright," he claimed as he patted his shoulder, "You're not going to get in trouble, I promise. And hey, now you don't owe me anymore."

Francis chuckled at that. "At least I'll never have to do this again," he reasoned, "So what does that village doctor of yours have in mind for five kilograms of opium?"

"Didn't say, but I'm sure he's come up with some great idea for it," Justin answered, "The man is a pure genius when it comes to medicine and healing wounds."

"So what do we do now?" Francis inquired as they approached the end of alley.

"We'll head back to my place and I'll take care of things from there," Justin answered as he turned a corner of the alley.

Suddenly, gunfire rang out and before he could get behind cover, Justin felt something rip right through his left shoulder painfully. He looked down at his left shoulder once he was behind the wall again and saw blood coming out from a gunshot wound. "Francis! Call the cops! We've been double-crossed!" Justin shouted as he pulled out his gun with his right hand.

While Francis quickly got into contact with the police, who wouldn't be that far away from this location, Justin heard chatter in Arabic from the gunmen outside the alley. From what he was hearing, they wanted to get the opium back and were wondering if Justin was dead. After about 30 seconds he heard someone running up the alley toward him.

_Time to make that fucker pay!_ he thought as he quickly blind fired into the alley opening at various angles. After his third shot, he heard a shout of pain, followed by a body collapsing to ground and further shouts of pain. Justin knew he had self-defense on his side, but he didn't want to get Francis involved with this any further.

"Francis, listen carefully," he begin to instruct his friend, "When we hear the police sirens, I want you to take both briefcases and leave the alley through the other end, the one we entered. Make sure the cops don't see you. Go back to your place and stay there. I'm going to go to the hospital, but someone will come to your place to pick up the opium. He'll ask for some food, you reply that you'd be happy to share with him and he'll respond by saying, 'Actually, I was referring to your blood.' Creepy, yeah, but that's the way you know that I sent whoever comes to see me. Give them the opium and your hands are clean. Understand?"

"Yeah, I got it," Francis replied, "The cops should be coming any moment now."

Sure enough, a few moments later, the two of them heard sirens approaching them. "Francis, go, now!" Justin shouted.

Francis nodded and took a briefcase in each of his hands and began running down the alley. Justin heard the screeching of tires as the gunmen ran off before the police arrived. Justin couldn't hear the screaming man anymore and assumed that he had escaped with his partners.

Justin heard the sirens just outside the alley and then were joined by the screeching of tires, the clatters of cars doors opening and closing, and the chatter among police officers. "There's no one here!" one officer shouted.

"Look! There, in the alley!" another officer replied, "There's some blood."

"Somebody! Help me, please!" Justin shouted from where he was sitting, "I think I've been shot! Help!"

"Hey! Someone's in the alley! Call an ambulance!" another officer shouted, "Sir! Do you have any weapons on your person?"

"I have a handgun, that's it," Justin replied, "I think I got one of those bastards with it!"

"Can you toss it into the alleyway so that we can see it?" the officer asked.

"Yeah, just a second," Justin replied as he took the gun in his right hand and slid it along the ground away from him where the police could see it, "Can I get some help here?" He was now starting to feel a great amount of pain from his left shoulder.

"Don't make any sudden movements," the officer instructed, "We have an ambulance on its way for you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I got it," Justin answered, "Just hurry up. I'm in a lot of pain here."

Moments later, two blue-uniformed police officers appeared to Justin's left, aiming handguns at him. Justin made no motion to look at them as he raised his right hand slowly.

"He's got a wound in his left shoulder! It's bleeding pretty bad!" the officer further away from Justin shouted, "We need to get this guy to an emergency room immediately!"

Justin heard another siren in the distance, but this one was different from the police sirens. "Is that the ambulance coming?" he asked the officer in front.

"Yeah, sounds like it," he answered, "Can you tell me your name, sir?"

"My name is Justin," he answered.

"Last name?" the officer inquired.

"Belmont. My name is Justin Belmont," Justin replied.

"Okay Justin Belmont," the officer began as the ambulance arrived on the scene, "I've seen people survive worse things than this. You're going to be fine now. The medics are on their way to take you to a hospital. Just stay with us."

Justin nodded, showing he understood what he was just told. "When we get to the hospital, make sure to give my name for their records," he requested.

"I was going to do that anyway, but thanks for reminding me," the officer responded, "Just stay with us, Justin."

At this point, two medics with light blue uniforms rushed into the alley carrying an orange stretcher. Carefully, they placed Justin onto the stretcher and carried him back to the ambulance, which immediately took off for the nearest hospital, while the medics inside did what they could to patch up the wound and stop the bleeding.

* * *

In an apartment on the other side of the city of Bucharest, another Arabic man's cell phone rang. He answered it. "What is your status?" he asked.

"We have the money, 100,000 Euros," came the answer, "We were unable to recover the opium and Abdul took a shot to the abdomen. Once he gets back to headquarters, he should be okay. I'm sorry sir, but we failed you."

"Relax Anwar," Amir Muhammad replied, "As long as you have the money, we can finish our plans. Make sure you aren't being followed before you get back here and we'll help Abdul as best we can. And then we'll pack up shop and move west."

"Understood sir," Anwar replied as the he hung up his phone.

Amir Muhammad hung up his phone and stared out the window of his apartment room. He was the leader of The Sword of Allah, the last Islamic Fundamentalist organization operating outside of the Middle East. Over the course of his leadership, he watched as the numbers of his group had dwindled to fewer than 100. He knew that if his group died, all hope of their worldwide victory over the infidels would die with them. And without drastic action, the group's death was inevitable. There was just no way to find new recruits in this so-called new world. One by one, he saw every brother organization collapse via Internet news stories.

After a few minutes, he opened up his cell phone and scrolled through the contacts stored there. He eventually came upon a contact titled "Witch". Hesitating momentarily, he dialed the number there and placed the phone against his ear. The line rang three times before it was answered.

"Amir Muhammad, I knew you would contact me again," an almost devilish female voice greeted, "Have you give my offer any thought?"

"Let me make one thing clear to you, Miss Francescu," Amir began, "You are an infidel. I do not trust you. If you cross me, I will have you killed."

"You can try, but I don't think you could succeed," Francescu replied, "Now, have you acquired the 20 million Euros I require?"

"Yes, we have the money in the forms you requested," Amir confirmed, "Is there anything else you require?"

"One minor thing that we can discuss face-to-face," she answered, "I will send you coordinates to travel to in a few hours. Arrive at those coordinates on the night of the next full moon, which will be on June 8. Come with the money I requested and your most trustworthy men and I will tell you of my plan. I think you will find it to your satisfaction."

"You told me that you could hand me the world on a silver plate," Amir pointed out, "You better have not been exaggerating."

"Trust me, I wasn't, but that's all I can say for now," Francescu assured, "I look forward to meeting you." And with that, the line went dead.

* * *

Author's Notes: I decided to post this to get some initial reaction for this project, which I have been working on in my mind for a while. I know where I ultimately want this story to end up, and that ending may shock some of you Castlevania fans out there. The action in the story early on may seem rather unlike a Castlevania story, but we'll get to that stuff soon enough.

By the way, I put all the conversations in English although it is implicitly understood that most of the time the characters are speaking in their own native tounges (Romanian, Arabic, etc.). Just trying to make life as easy as possible for myself.

I am playing it safe and giving this story an M rating. If you feel that a T rating is sufficient, tell me as much in a review.

Speaking of which, please leave good reviews. They help me improve my writing. Thanks a lot!


	2. 1: Forces in Motion

Author's Notes: Come on guys, I want you to review my work! I really want to see what you guys think about my story. I know it didn't start off like Castlevania stories usually do, but we'll get to that action soon. In fact, an old, familiar face of the series makes his story debut in this chapter. I think you all know who I mean.

So, here is the new chapter. Enjoy everyone.

**Chapter One: Forces in Motion**

The ambulance arrived at Bucharest University Memorial Hospital only about seven minutes after Justin Belmont had been shot. The medics had been able to slow the bleeding on the way in, but immediate surgery was necessary to stop it completely. Justin was told as much as they arrived and he was carried out of the ambulance on his stretcher.

"How long will I be under for?" he inquired of the doctor who was talking to him while he was being wheeled into and through the hospital to the surgery rooms.

"It shouldn't take too long," the doctor replied, "I'd say if all goes well, you'll be conscious again later tonight."

"Okay, that's fine," Justin answered, "Someone will be here to see me soon, I think."

As Justin was being rolled into surgery, the police officer who talked with him at the scene of the shooting hurried to a nearby desk and caught the attention of the young lady sitting there. "Someone going into surgery, officer?" she inquired.

"Yes, exactly," the officer replied, "His name is Justin Belmont. We still need to perform a background check on him at the station to see if he is involved with any illegal activities. Someone wanted him dead pretty badly. He's suffered a gunshot wound."

"Could you give me the name again?" the woman asked as she pulled up the correct program from the hospital computer system.

"Justin Belmont," the officer repeated, "He's a male in his late 20's, if I had to make a guess at it. I'll contact the police station to find out anything about his background."

"Whatever you feel is necessary, sir," the woman replied as she finished filling out what little information she had been given about the patient. All she could enter now was an approximate age, reason for surgery and name.

However, no one in the hospital outside of Justin knew what would happen next. Although a routine process at a hospital, the name that was entered into this report began a sequence of events that only a select few knew about, starting in an office over a thousand kilometers west of Bucharest.

----------

Only moments after the report was entered into the hospital's computer system, an e-mail was sent to a computer in an office in the Vatican City. The sending of the e-mail was done via an automatic system that was tied to the appearance of names and phrases that this particular office, the Office of Occult Investigations, deemed important. And Justin Belmont was one of those names.

The e-mail notice interrupted Father Luca Donetti from the report he had been working on about a supposedly possessed estate in the central Italian countryside. "Thanks be to God," Donetti claimed quietly, "I needed a break from that one."

He didn't like this aspect of his job. He felt this was an absurd intrusion of privacy for what usually ended up being minor mentions in newspapers and Internet articles. However, he understood that there were certain individuals that the recently-reunited Christian Church needed to keep track of very closely. So Donetti opened up his e-mail box and saw the high priority message at the very top of his list.

Father Donetti was new to this office, but he recognized the family name of the person in the e-mail immediately. "Justin Belmont," he noted quietly, "What has happened to you son?" Almost everyone who worked in the Church hierarchy had heard the stories of the Belmont Clan's many wars against Count Dracula and his minions. Donetti opened the e-mail while he picked up the red phone on the upper right corner of his desk, just to the left of a beige phone of a standard design. The red phone was used to inform his superiors directly and without delay, and a notice about the Belmonts qualified as something to move to the higher-ups immediately.

"Bishop Rossi, this is Father Donetti," Luca began as he began to read the e-mail's details, "I just got an e-mail alert concerning a Justin Belmont in Bucharest, Romania."

This caught Bishop Marco Rossi's undivided attention. Any news about the Belmonts did. "What has happened?" he inquired as he opened his e-mail account.

"It appears he suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital for surgery," Donetti replied, "No other firm details at this time, unfortunately. This is just a preliminary hospital report."

Bishop Rossi was reading his e-mail by this time. "Luca, are you busy with something right now?" he asked.

"I was filling out a report on that incident at the manor just outside of Florence," Donetti responded.

"That can wait until later," Marco ordered, "I want you to keep an eye on this development until further notice. I will contact our friends in Bucharest to make sure they are aware of this development."

"I understand," Father Donetti replied as he hung up the red phone and started doing research on Justin Belmont.

Bishop Rossi called the Church offices in Bucharest to find that they were already aware of the developments and were monitoring the situation as well. But just as he hung up his phone with them, it began to ring and the phone's caller ID system failed to provide a name or a number. That meant that whoever was calling him now either had access to very advanced technology or was a powerful agent of the Church who wanted to keep their identity hidden at first. Cautiously, Marco answered the phone. "Hello?" he inquired.

"Don't be nervous Bishop Rossi, I am calling to assist you," an unaltered male voice began, "I have seen the message. A Belmont is in the hospital."

"Who is this?" Rossi asked quickly, "How did you know that?" But he swore that deep voice was familiar. The accent told him he was either Romanian or he was of one of its neighbors.

"My apologies, perhaps an introduction is in order," the man replied, "I am a man of great mystery, yet known by many in your profession. In Japan, they call me Genya Arikado. My full name is Adrian Farenheights Tepes."

Bishop Rossi needed to hear no more as a shiver ran through his body at the recognition of whom he was talking to. "You're Alucard!" he exclaimed, "Son of Count Dracula!"

"Yes, that is what most call me," Alucard affirmed.

* * *

Alucard gazed north toward the Transylvanian Alps in the distance from his location in southwestern Romania. It was a beautiful sight, but those mountains held within and behind them a dark legacy of which Alucard was a part of. Alucard held a cell phone to his right ear with his right hand as he continued to talk to Bishop Rossi.

"I understand that Justin Belmont has been injured in Bucharest," he continued.

"Aren't you in Japan?" Rossi inquired, "That's where your last known location is."

"I left Japan in 2042, 32 years ago," Alucard corrected, "Once the business involving Soma Cruz was ended, I found no reason to remain there and I returned to Romania. Don't be upset that the Vatican didn't know, Marco. I did not wish to be found by the Church until it was necessary to reveal myself."

"And why is now that time?" Marco asked, "For all anyone knows, Justin Belmont was a victim of random gang violence. Bucharest isn't a crime-free place, you know. This could be much ado about nothing."

"It might, but I highly doubt it," Alucard countered, "I have met Justin Belmont on many occasions and he is not the kind of man who would be careless enough to walk past a raging shootout. And you forget that The Sword of Allah operates somewhere in that city."

"The Sword of Allah?" Rossi repeated incredulously, "Their membership numbers less than 100 people. Unless Belmont put a high-ranking terrorist or Islamic Fundamentalist sympathizer in jail, I seriously doubt that they would be involved in this."

"I am simply keeping options open for consideration," Alucard defended, "I am led to believe The Sword of Allah is involved because of the timing. You may not be aware of this, but the Church recently authorized a 100,000 Euro reimbursement to Justin Belmont."

One hundred thousand Euros wasn't too significant a sum of money for the Church, but for a single individual who was not trying to establish new churches, it was an unusual event. "That isn't my department, but what would Justin Belmont need a 100,000 Euro reimbursement for?" Bishop Rossi inquired.

"Drugs, of course," Alucard responded, "To be specific, opium. Five kilograms of the stuff to be transported to the village of Warichylia."

"And the Church is reimbursing a drug deal?" Rossi asked incredulously.

"It's for a good cause, Bishop, trust me," Alucard assured, "In any case, the closest major source of opium is Afghanistan. And The Sword of Allah is a known opium smuggling organization here in Eastern Europe."

"Why would Justin Belmont risk running illegal drugs like that?" Rossi inquired, "He is a lawyer of great reputation."

"Because Justin Belmont is a Belmont," Alucard replied, "And Belmonts always help their own out. This opium was meant to help create a cure for that disease running rampant across central Africa right now. I believe it is being called the T-14 Disease."

"That's a totally different matter at the moment," Bishop Rossi interrupted, "Right now, Justin Belmont is our primary focus. Now, you said you are in Romania, yes?"

"That is correct," Alucard replied into his black cell phone.

"How quickly can you make it to Bucharest?" Rossi inquired, "We need you to talk to Mr. Belmont before the police do, assuming he survives."

"I can be in Bucharest within a few hours, wind currents permitting," Alucard answered, "I am guessing your orders are to interrogate Justin Belmont on why he got shot, yes?"

"That is accurate," Rossi affirmed, "And if this does involve drugs, make sure you clean that up without the police learning about it. The last thing the Church needs is to be embroiled in a drug scandal so soon after reforming itself."

"Understood sir," Alucard replied as he closed his cell phone and placed it inside a pocket in his black coat. He removed the clasps which held his cape, which seemed to transition between black and blood red as it fluttered in the breeze, and folded it up so that it fit inside a special pouch on this inside of his coat. From the same pouch, he pulled out a red neck tie which he placed around his neck so that he looked somewhat respectable in the city.

Alucard gazed at his surroundings one last time before he left, thinking about how his story began in a village not unlike this one some 700 years earlier. _My God, has it been that long?_ Alucard asked himself with a small amount of shock. He put those thoughts out of mind as he muttered an incantation once he was sure no one was watching him atop the church's roof. Moments later, Alucard transformed into a large bat which immediately began to fly eastward toward the Romanian capital city.

* * *

Lisa Farenheights left her home about an hour before sunset on September 14, 1381 as she walked toward the church in her village of Tranlya, where she assisted with the healing of the sick who came to the church. The 19-year-old young lady had blonde hair which reached down to her shoulders and was wearing a black gown of sorts. She was a beautiful young woman of average height, but she had always seemed to have kept to herself more than was usual. Ever since her parents tragically died in a fire three years earlier, Lisa seemed to have entered a constant state or mourning and became very withdrawn and only seemed to converse with the village priest and those who required her help. It seemed like she was destined for a life in service to God. And while those who thought that were correct, they could have never imagined what that service would entail.

As Lisa entered the village center on this date, something changed within her suddenly. A feeling unlike any that she had ever felt before overwhelmed her. It was a feeling of being drawn to a place as if she knew something she needed to do or find was there. She felt drawn to the north, where the only structure she saw was the old castle that towered over Tranlya.

The old Radal Castle was not an unfamiliar sight to Lisa. In fact, she had seen it almost every day of her life. The village once served the Radal Family who resided in that castle, but it was common knowledge that the Radal Family had been wiped out in the Crusade campaign of 1270, over a century earlier. Since then, everyone had assumed that the castle lay empty and was thought to be falling apart due to neglect. However, as Lisa looked at the castle now, she began to see things about it she had never noticed before. Most prominent among these things were the sections of the castle that seemed to defy common sense, such as supports that would not be able to hold up what they appeared to.

"Is something troubling you Lisa?" the priest inquired as he left the church and caught sight of her, "Do you need guidance?"

"The path to the north here leads to that castle, Father, is that correct?" Lisa asked without even looking at her employer.

Father Cornel Andone looked in the direction Lisa was momentarily. "Yes, the road to the north leads to Radal Castle," he answered, "But the castle has been deserted for over a hundred years."

"No, there's something, or someone, there that I need to find," Lisa countered, "I can't explain it, but I suddenly have this feeling of being drawn to that place, though my better judgment tells me to stay away."

"You are being called to the castle, Lisa?" Father Andone inquired, "Is that what you mean?"

Lisa nodded. "Yes, yes, you could say that Father," she agreed as she began walking toward the north.

"If that is the case, it is either a call from God himself or a call from The Devil," Cornel warned, "But I doubt you can resist it either way. Lisa, be safe on the path you travel."

"Thank you Father," Lisa replied as she continued to walk north, breaking into a run once the path north narrowed. She needed to find whatever was calling her to the castle.

As soon as she rounded a bend and could no longer see her village at all, Lisa stopped as she spotted a horse-drawn carriage waiting only 20 feet ahead of her. As Lisa approached the red carriage from behind, she saw that there were two large horses in front that obviously pulled the carriage around. Both horses were completely covered with metal armor, but neither seemed to mind the burden and remained perfectly silent as Lisa walked up toward them.

"Excuse me, my lady, but what is your name?" Lisa heard a raspy voice from behind her suddenly. She gasped and turned quickly to find the man who had driven the carriage to this location. He sat on a platform behind the horses with a full set of reins in hand. However, Lisa could not see any part of the driver's body, as he was completely covered by a dark blue cloak that even hid his face from view. He seemed to be a man of slightly larger than average height and resting behind him was a rather large scythe which lay across the platform he was sitting on, blade on the side which Lisa could not see from where she stood.

"Um, my name is Lisa Farenheights," Lisa answered cautiously, "Why are you here, sir?"

"Are you on your way to the castle up there?" the driver inquired as he gestured toward Radal Castle.

"Yes, I am," Lisa answered, "You wouldn't happen to be heading there as well, would you sir?"

"It just so happens that I am on my way there now," he replied cheerfully, though still with a raspy voice, "Why don't you get in the carriage? I can get you there faster than you can on foot, I assure you."

"I would take your offer sir, but I don't have any money to repay you with," Lisa answered.

"Oh, you don't have to pay me anything," the driver explained, "Just get inside and I'll get us up to the castle in no time."

Lisa hesitated a moment before she walked to the carriage and opened the door leading inside. As she climbed in, she saw about a dozen valuable items scattered across the interior, but right next to the door was a place where she could sit down while looking forward. Lisa climbed up into the seat and sat down in it, shutting the carriage door behind her.

"The road is a little bumpy, so be ready for that," the driver called as he used the reigns to get the horses moving forward at a trotting pace. Lisa watched the countryside roll by her for the 20 minutes it took to reach the castle entrance. She noticed that the closer she got to the castle, the more desolate the landscape became. The number of trees around her became less and less as the carriage approached the castle. And she could tell it wasn't due to anyone cutting down trees around the castle, for there were no tree stumps to indicate that. It was as if the trees simply could not grow near the castle.

Lisa's looking around at the countryside was ended when she felt the carriage come to a complete halt. She looked out the window in front of her and saw the entrance to the castle. The drawbridge for the main entrance was down, allowing anyone to enter.

Now that she was this close to the huge structure, the calling that Lisa felt was much stronger than before, forcing her to continue on inside. However, her sense of foreboding had grown as well, telling her that she should stay away from this place.

"This is your last chance to change your mind, my lady," the driver pointed out, "You want to go into the castle with me?"

After a moment of hesitation, Lisa replied, "Yes, please continue."

With that said the driver took the reins and directed the horses over the drawbridge and toward the large wooden entrance, which opened for them seemingly automatically and then closed behind them, sealing them within the castle as the drawbridge was also brought up behind them. Whatever had led Lisa to this castle had now sealed her within it. Whatever had called Lisa Farenheights up to the Radal Castle, it had sealed her within the walls of the "abandoned" structure, perhaps to become her tomb.

About a minute later, the driver stopped the horses at the far end of this large Entrance Hall, which was dimly illuminated by the few small windows carved into the walls. "Miss Farenheights, I cannot carry you any farther in this carriage," he informed her, "Please step out of the carriage."

Lisa complied by his wishes and left the carriage, grabbing a short sword from the compartment before shutting the door behind her. She had never handled such a weapon before, but it was better than nothing. However, now that she was here, the pull she had felt was gone. She looked around her, looking for anything that seemed important, but couldn't find anything.

"Relax my lady, you will not be harmed as long as you listen to the master's instructions," the driver assured as he got off his bench and picked up his scythe from the bench and held it in his right hand like a staff.

Lisa turned around and immediately realized who her driver was. The scythe's blade, which reached well behind the cloaked man's head, and his skeletal hand holding the scythe upright were all she needed to see before she began to retreat from him, holding her sword up as a defense. "You're… You're the Grim Reaper!" she stated in fear, "You're Death itself! Stay away from me you demon!"

Death stopped momentarily and reached for his hood with his left hand. When he pulled it back, his face was revealed to Lisa to be a skull. Indeed, there was not a scrap of flesh on Death's entire body, just a skeleton that could walk and talk and carried a fearsome instrument of destruction. Lisa was at once horrified and intrigued by the sight and she stopped retreating from him.

"My lady, there is no need for that sword in your hand," Death promised as he stood in place, "Please stay here while I inform my master that you are here." And with that, he began walking toward the wooden door leading out of the Entrance Hall.

"Who is your master?" Lisa inquired quickly as Death reached the door, "Is he what drew me here?"

"Those questions will be answered shortly," Death answered as he opened the door, "This won't take long." Death shut the door behind him, leaving Lisa alone with the horses in this room.

"Oh Lisa, what have you gotten yourself into?" Lisa asked herself as she began to walk toward the door that Death just went through, continuously looking around to avoid her demise as long as she could, "This castle is going to become my tomb. I should have known better than to come here! What was I thinking?" Finally, her emotions overcame her and she sat down next to the wooden door and buried her face in her hands as she began to cry. She knew crying would solve nothing at this point, but she just could not help herself. If only she could leave now, she would never leave her village again. But it was already too late for her, and she knew it.

Lisa was so consumed in her own sorrow that she didn't realize that the door right behind her was opening slowly. When the door opened completely, a tall man stood looking down at the weeping maiden at his feet. His skin was extremely pale but his very stature demanded attention and displayed his noble background. His white hair was even longer than Lisa's, but could not hide his pointed ears. His facial features were very sharp and he also had a mustache and goatee. His broad shoulders and impressive height (he stood six feet, six inches tall) completed the commanding presence he had.

"My lady, please forgive me, but I needed to see if my eyes were deceiving me," the man apologized in a very deep voice that seem to resonate through the room.

Lisa immediately stopped crying and slowly stood up, removing her hands from her face. The voice was an assuring one to her. She turned around and gasped at the man who stood before her. _He's… He's beautiful!_ she thought, not expecting this to be the master Death had spoken of. He also had an aura of charisma around him. He seemed too perfect to be human. But there was also something dangerous in those gray eyes of his, filled with both sorrow and hatred. "Who are you?" Lisa inquired.

"My name is Dracula Vladimir Tepes, but you may call me Vladimir, Miss Farenheights," Dracula replied, "May I call you Lisa?"

"Um, yes," she answered, "You are the one who brought me here?"

Dracula nodded in reply. "Again, I'm sorry I had to have us meet like this," he began, "But after watching you for so long, I needed to see if I was right about you."

"Right about what?" Lisa asked, somehow finding it hard to get angry at the fact she was more or less kidnapped. Vladimir was just too charming for her to get angry with.

"I will explain to you at another time," Dracula replied, "Suffice to say that you have free reign to my castle and may leave at any time, if you wish to. However, I believe dinner is being served now, so if you would follow me please."

And with that, Lisa followed Count Dracula and decided to stay in the castle after the dinner she had with him, his charm and mystery winning her over. He would tell her everything about himself, including that his real name was Mathias Cronqvist and that he was actually a vampire. He would tell her the story of his life, including how his first wife, Elisabetha, had died of illness while he was at war, leading Mathias to curse God himself, changing him into the accursed creature he was now. And he told her that she was the reincarnation of Elizabetha, as she would not have answered his call otherwise. In return, Lisa opened her heart to Dracula. She fell deeply in love with Vlad, as she often called him, and soon saw herself as his chance to redeem himself. And Lisa soon found that Vlad loved her in return. Three years after their initial meeting, they would be married in the castle. It was the happiest moment in both their lives to that point. A year later, another event occurred which brought them even greater joy.

* * *

Justin Belmont woke up that night, feeling a dull pain in his left shoulder. As his sight began to sharpen, he noticed a few sensors and needles attached to his body and heard a regular beeping noise from a nearby machine. He slowly began to sit up, using the head of his hospital bed as support. He saw that the room was rather small and very white. Justin decided that since he didn't need much care for recovery besides his own natural healing abilities, he should try to get out of here as soon as he could.

At that point, a young woman of about 25 walked into the room and stopped upon seeing Justin conscious in his bed. Justin thought she was very good looking. She stood at five feet, three inches tall and had light brown hair that was tied in a single ponytail behind her head. She was wearing a white nurse's uniform which consisted of a blouse with short sleeves and a skirt which reached down to her knees. Justin couldn't see her white socks and blue shoes. Her skin was actually very tan for a person from this part of the world, but Justin saw that she was definitely Romanian. She also had green eyes and walked with confidence, which Justin liked to see. He saw she had a nametag pinned to her blouse.

"Oh, Mr. Belmont, you're awake," she stated as she walked closer to his bedside, "I'm happy to inform you that your surgery was a success. Your shoulder should be fine in about a month."

"You mean I'm stuck here for that long?" Justin inquired, "I can't stay here. There's work I need to do."

"No, you aren't staying here for a month," the nurse answered with a slight giggle, "You'll probably only be here for a week, if not less. But the shoulder won't be completely healed at that point. You'll have to take it easy for a while."

Justin nodded, relieved that he would be back to work within a week's time. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that I won't be wasting too much of your time, Miss …"

"Balint," she finished, "Mary Balint."

Justin nodded. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman," he stated with a smirk.

Mary blushed slightly at this compliment. Most guys didn't think of her as anything special. "Thank you," she replied as she checked some of the equipment in the room.

"So, I assume you are a nurse, Mary?" Justin inquired.

"Yes I am," Mary answered, "It's the best job in the world, if you ask me, helping others, but our pay says otherwise." That was Mary's only real complaint with her occupation. The pay was just barely enough to get by on and pay back the loans she needed to take out to get through college.

Justin nodded, also understanding the pressure that the "college economy" put on those who got through it. It seemed as if the world had forgotten the lessons of 2008. However, as a lawyer, he was easily able to pay off the loans and necessities of life. "Yeah, I know how you feel," he replied.

Mary giggled at that. "You're a lawyer," she countered, "What do you know about financial hardship?"

"At least the government offers you free money to go into medicine," Justin replied, "I had to loan my way through law school. And I'm not the kind of person who likes to take out loans." The Belmonts were always a very proud people who hated to owe anything to anyone, hence their emphasis on self-reliance over the centuries.

"I just hope you don't sue us for anything," Mary said.

Justin shook his head. "No, I don't sue doctors," he responded, "A little oath I made to myself when I entered law school. My firm tends to focus on contracts, not malpractice."

Mary nodded and then snapped her fingers as she finished checking on the equipment in the room. "Oh, I just remembered, Justin, you have a visitor who wanted to see you as soon as you were awake. He's a very… odd man," she reported.

Justin knew exactly who it was and was relieved. "Send him in," he said, "And it was nice talking to you Mary."

"Nice talking to you too, Justin," Mary replied as she left the room.

_Definitely girlfriend material,_ he thought with a smile as he waited for his expected guest to enter the room.

Sure enough, only a few seconds later, a man wearing a black business suit entered the room. Justin had met Alucard on many different occasions before, though usually in the village of Warichylia. While he could blend into urban settings well enough, Justin knew Alucard always felt a bit out of place there. And so did Justin at times, to be honest. The old village life had more pull than one thinks it does, especially when you grow up with it as Justin and Alucard did.

Alucard's black suit stood out very prominently against the white background. The background even seemed to be bothering Alucard's eyes, as he was squinting slightly, as if he had just walked into a very bright place after being in darkness for a while. _Well, that's the vampire in him,_ Justin thought, _They don't like bright places._ Unlike pure vampires, Alucard's dhampir status allowed him to actually travel around in the daylight, but the light obviously bothered him a bit, as did the heat.

"It is good to see you again, Justin Belmont," Alucard began in that deep, resonant voice of his which commanded attention, "Although I wish it could be under different circumstances."

"You and me both, Alucard," Justin agreed, "I assume you are here on orders from the Church."

"That would be correct, although they had no idea that I was actually back in Romania," Alucard responded, "That should set them scrambling in the Vatican."

Justin chuckled at that. The Catholic part of the Church was still getting used to some of the realities in the Orthodox part, including all the occult myths actually being somewhat true. But Alucard was one of the good guys and always had been, as far as Justin knew. Alucard knew otherwise, however.

"So, how did you get shot?" Alucard inquired.

"I guess those backstabbers wanted their opium back," Justin mused, "But don't worry, it's in safe hands for you to pick up and bring to Warichylia."

"Excellent," Alucard declared, "Before we get to the opium's location, do you know if you were dealing with some group of individuals for this deal?"

Justin thought about that for a moment, then shook his head. "No, they never mentioned that they were part of any group," he reported, "The trade and the shootout did involve Arabic men, but since most of the opium trade in this part of the world comes from Afghanistan, I didn't think anything of that."

Alucard nodded. Arabs pretty much ran the illegal opium trade business in Eastern Europe and there were plenty of what were called "lone wolves" in the trade, since the drug was on the cheap side as far as illegal drugs went. So it wasn't unusual to deal with small groups of people when buying and selling opium.

"How many people attacked you after the trade was made?" Alucard asked.

Justin thought again for a few seconds. "I'd say at least four," he replied, "I heard at least four different voices, though it could have been more."

Alucard took this information in. This was actually the exception rather than the rule in drug deals. Double-crosses were rare and usually were the actions of desperate dealers looking to make a last big score before leaving the market. However, this still told him nothing about who might have been on the other side of the transaction, and definitely provided no confirmation on his theory about The Sword of Allah being involved.

"So, are you going to be okay?" Alucard inquired.

"Yeah, I'll be out of the hospital in a week," Justin assured, "I hope my co-workers don't ask too many questions about how this happened to me. I'd be disbarred immediately if anyone learned I was involved in a drug deal. I guess I could say I just happened to be collateral damage in a gang battle."

"Without any hard evidence and witnesses, I'm sure that the police will get nowhere with investigating this," Alucard mused, "Speaking of witnesses, did you have an accomplice of your own that has the opium with him?"

Justin nodded. "Yeah, his name is Francis Mauscu," he began, "He lives in the King Michael Apartments on the other side of the city, room 403. I told him to listen for the verbal exchange we created."

"The one involving me having a preference for blood?" Alucard asked for clarification.

"Yeah, that one," Justin confirmed, "He should let you in and give you the opium, which you can take to Warichylia so that I get the reimbursement from the Vatican."

Alucard nodded as he stood up. "Any progress on that dream of yours to become a judge?" he asked.

Justin shook his head. "No, not yet," he admitted, "I'm not surprised about that, though. I really haven't done anything to raise anyone's attention yet. Hopefully, I can get in contact with the right people who can help me get that position I want. I can't keep working like this forever. I'm already feeling the effects of all this stress at work."

"Good luck in your future, Justin," Alucard said before he left the room. As he did, he passed a police officer who immediately entered the room after Alucard left it. The officer couldn't help but glance at the dhampir before he began his interrogation of Justin Belmont.

* * *

"Are you sure you read those coordinates right, sir?" Anwar asked his leader, "There is nothing but a clearing in the woods there."

"The coordinates are correct, Anwar," Amir confirmed, "Give us a route there."

"We can't get there by car," Anwar explained, "There's a road here that would put us within 5 kilometers of the coordinates, but it looks like a hard trek through the woods from that point forward. You'd think these infidels would all embrace this new world nonsense, but those people out there still live in the dark ages."

"Anwar, just give me a route to the location," Amir ordered, "We can pack our gear with us. We have lived outdoors before."

"Okay, generating the route now," Anwar replied, "Hmm, it looks like there is a partial clearing near the coordinates of some kind. We should travel through there."

Amir looked at what Anwar had seen on his computer screen and nodded. "Yes, that looks convenient," he remarked, "It doesn't appear to be inhabited by anyone."

"Sir, are you sure this plan is wise?" Anwar inquired, "We are giving this witch 20 million Euros for what?"

"She says that she can give us the world on a silver plate," Amir answered, "This is our last chance. If we fail, we die, which is going to happen anyway. But if we succeed, we could bring Allah's will to this sickening world. And Allah's will shall be done."

"Yes sir," Anwar replied as he studied the route he had just printed out. There was something about the clearing around the coordinates Amir had received that gave Anwar some anxiety. _I feel like no man should step foot in that place,_ he thought, though he had no reason why he felt that way. So he just kept it to himself.

* * *

Francis was extremely nervous. He knew the laws surrounding illegal drug trafficking. If he were caught by the police with five kilograms of opium without a license for its possession and transport, he would be in jail for at least the next five years. Not to mention his career would be over. He wasn't a very religious man, but Francis had already said many silent prayers, hoping that Justin's contact would arrive soon.

Francis glanced at his wristwatch again. It was approaching nine o'clock at night when there finally came a knock at his apartment door. Francis jumped out of surprise at the sudden noise, then cautiously approached the door and gazed out the peep hole there. Outside, he saw a tall man with a regal appearance, blonde hair, gray eyes and a black suit. The very look of the man sent a shiver down Francis's spine. "Who's there?" he inquired.

"I am a traveler, sir, and I am in need of sustenance, if you could spare some," the man replied in a deep voice that put Francis even more on edge.

"I'd be happy to share some of my food with you," Francis answered and waited for the expected reply.

"Actually, I was referring to your blood," the man answered.

Francis immediately opened his door to let Alucard in. "Thank God you're here," he began, "The cases are behind the kitchen counter over there. Just take them and leave, please."

"Don't worry, the police have no idea what really happened," Alucard assured as he grabbed the two cases and began to leave with them.

"How is Justin?" Francis asked.

"He'll be out of the hospital in a week," Alucard answered, "Trust me, it'll take more than a bullet to the shoulder to kill Justin. Oh, and if the police ask, you never saw me, got it?"

Francis nodded. "Yeah, I understand," he affirmed.

"Good," Alucard replied as he left the apartment room with the briefcases. Francis shut the door behind him and was finally able to relax. His ordeal was over, but he couldn't know of the forces he had helped to set in motion on this day, forces that Francis wouldn't be able to comprehend even if he knew of them.

* * *

At around this same time, in a rather large stone cabin in western Romania, a black cell phone began ringing on a wooden desk. The phone lay on top of a white sheet of paper which covered the entire desk and was surrounded by various devices, most of which were made of metal. The phone's ringtone was the one that came with the phone when purchased, and so it was generic.

The ringing caught the attention of a woman in her early 30s, who was going over the sheet on the desk, which had various drawings all over it that appeared to be schematics for some device. She already had these schematics memorized, but she knew she could not risk a mistake in them. There was simply too much at stake for that. She picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID name. The name there was from someone she had been waiting for to contact her. She immediately took the call.

"Hello?" Emma Francescu asked.

"Miss Francescu, I just reviewed the schematics you sent me," a man replied, "I have to say; this is quite the nasty device you have here. If I actually gave a damn about the world, I'd tell you I couldn't build this."

Emma knew this man better than that. "Of course, you aren't turning me down on moral grounds," she replied, "Can you build this?"

"I believe so," he answered, "Obviously, it's going to take some time and a lot of money. I think the 20 million Euros we agreed upon will suffice, though. Do you have the money, by the way?"

"I will within the next 30 days," she answered, "How long will it take you to build this?"

"Once I have all the parts I need, it shouldn't take me more than a month to construct it," the man replied, "But I'm not starting until I get my money."

"I'll give you 10 million to begin and then the other 10 million upon completion and delivery," Emma responded, "Will that be suitable?"

"Make it 15 and 5 and you have a deal," he countered.

Emma grimaced for a moment upon hearing this. She did not like that arrangement, but she knew this man was the only one who could build the device she needed. "You have a deal, but if you cross me, I will make sure you will regret ever being born, do I make myself clear?" she asked.

"Perfectly Miss Francescu," he answered, "When will you be able to give me the 15 million?"

"I will send coordinates to you tomorrow," Emma replied, "Meet me there on June 9 and you'll get your payment."

"A pleasure doing business with you," he said before he broke the connection.

Emma put her phone down and sat motionless for about 30 seconds. She was analyzing the situation, trying to see where things in her plan could go wrong and how to minimize her losses if and when they did go wrong. Obviously, Amir could try to double-cross her, but she would be more than capable of dealing with that. The biggest problem she could foresee was having the man she was just talking to suddenly jack up his price on her, but he had no history of doing that to his buyers. Indeed, the two of them had done business on multiple occasions before, though this was much bigger than anything he had done for her in the past. In any case, she really had no recourse in that situation except to put her plans on hold and get more money.

But Emma Francescu could wait. Patience was a trait that ran in her blood. Having done all she could for the day, she retired to her bed to sleep. Tomorrow, she would send her contact the coordinates of her cabin. And until June 8, that was all she could do.

Before going to bed, she gazed out of the window in her bedroom and stared at the place where, 75 years ago, a medieval castle had once stood. She had never seen this castle herself, but she had heard all the stories about it. She knew that her plan would bring swift retaliation. But that was where Amir's goons would come into play.

_If the Belmonts come,_ she thought to herself, _Let's see how they deal with modern weapons._

_

* * *

_Author's Notes: This chapter had the first flashback sequence, which I will try to keep in chronological order so that people don't get confused with them. I have noticed that most stories here that focus on the events surrounding Alucard's beginnings and Lisa's death have Lisa dying while Alucard is young. I'm going to break that mold a little bit. In fact, I am going to portray an Alucard that you are probably not used to seeing. But that's not going to happen for a little while. But anyone who has read my other works, especially my Harry Potter one, knows that I'm not big on purely good or purely evil characters. There are some nasty skeletons in Alucard's closet, and I'm going to bring them out and let you judge on him then.

This chapter has introduced you to most of the players in this pivotal saga in the Castlevania series, but one is still missing. And you'll be meeting this rather eccentric character in the next chapter. But until then, read, review and have fun!


	3. 2: Home Sweet Home

Author's Notes: Well, it has been a while since I have updated anything of mine here. I'm glad you have all stuck with me through this inactivity. Again, I'd like to see some reviews for this story soon.

And here is the next chapter.

**Chapter 2: Home Sweet Home**

It was sunrise on May 20, 2074 when Alucard arrived in the village of Warichylia. He had traveled on foot the whole night, using his superhuman speed and the power the night granted to him to travel across the country in such a short amount of time. He was now wearing his cape and old-fashioned clothing again, since he didn't have to hide his true identity in these parts. Everyone knew who he was and what he was and respected him for the choices he had made in the past to oppose his father. However, there were some actions that Alucard had done in the past that even his good friends in the Belmont Family didn't know about.

_I was a different man back then,_ Alucard reasoned to himself as he entered the village's outskirts, briefcases still in hand, _No one needs to know about those actions now. I am not that man anymore._

Indeed, the times had changed greatly since those days. Back then, the Belmont Clan was feared almost as much as Count Dracula was. Yes, they were soldiers for God, no doubt about that. Yes, they were extremely capable warriors and could destroy evil beings that would otherwise wipe out an entire village as if they were nothing. But the presence of a Belmont in the old days often meant one thing: evil beings were going to arrive or, even worse, were already present. And once the Belmonts started showing magical abilities, many started to grab torches whenever they saw a Belmont in town. However, no one dared to actually burn a Belmont at the stake, in part due to their immunity issued by the Orthodox Church.

However, Simon Belmont changed all that in 1691, when he defeated Dracula single-handedly. Part of the reason for the fear most people had of the Belmonts was because they didn't understand the burden they carried. The Dracula Incidents of 1094, 1476, 1479, 1576 and 1591 were all kept under lock and key by both Churches, never to be told to the people for fear of mass hysteria when the people learned that the vampire myths were very true. However, in 1691, there were too many inquisitive people from all across Europe who descended upon Wallachia and Transylvania upon hearing rumors of the living dead and other horrible creatures of the night. Try as the Churches did to keep these people out, some made it through the information blockade and a year later, a few even found the reclusive Simon Belmont himself. He was more than happy to share his story with these people, unaware that the Orthodox Church would rescind their immunity on he and his family members. At the time, vampire hunters were not hard to find, although the Belmonts were the undisputed best of the best, and the Church leadership saw Simon as completely disposable. They tried to brand him a villain, even disclosing that his family lineage included a witch and starting a false rumor that his family even included vampires.

However, this plan backfired as the people of Wallachia rallied around Simon and his family, even going as far to take up their farming instruments to protect a visibly weak Simon Belmont in 1697 from an official Church execution squad, at the risk of their own lives. Even when Simon told the crowd to go back to their homes, the villagers continued to stand between their hero and the Church. The executioners had no orders to kill anyone besides Simon Belmont, so they were forced to leave the village. Ever since then, while some were still wary of the Belmonts, the family was revered across Romania as national heroes. The family's fame achieved its peak in 1792, when Richter Belmont defeated Dracula in a series of incidents that were publicized all over Romania.

However, the more things changed, the more they seemed to stay the same in Warichylia. Yes, there were a few modern buildings around and almost everyone used electricity on a daily basis now. And there were a few solar-powered cars around the village. Aside from these, the people of Warichylia lived in almost the same way their ancestors had hundreds of years ago. Most of these people led simple lives, far away from the modern world. Yes, every now and then someone left for the cities, but they were very much in the minority. There was something about this lifestyle that made one appreciate life more than any life in the city could.

As he approached the village center, Alucard caught sight of a nearby door opening. Out of the doorway walked a middle-aged man with blonde hair that was beginning to bald. His blue eyes scanned the outside world in the morning light and stopped on Alucard. The man smiled upon seeing the dhampir and immediately began walking toward him. "Alucard! Good to see you again!" he greeted.

"Mark Belmont, it is good to see you as well," Alucard replied as he bowed slightly toward his friend, "I have some news to tell you about your son."

"I'm assuming he got what Dr. Lobont requested," Mark said gesturing to the two briefcases Alucard was holding.

"Yes, he was successful, but it was not without cost," Alucard continued, "His dealers tried to kill him in a double cross. Justin was shot in the shoulder."

A grave look crossed Mark's face upon hearing this. "He's not dead, is he?" he inquired.

"No, Justin will be fine," Alucard assured, which brought an immediate smile to Mark's face, "He'll be out of the hospital in a week and back to kissing more ass in the office."

Mark sighed at this. "Well to be honest, we vampire hunters are out of a job now, with your old man gone," he admitted, "But it saddens me to see the Belmont Clan reduced to pencil pushing."

"Julia is holding up the family legacy quite well," Alucard replied, a smile now crossing his face, "Speaking of Julia, is she around right now?"

"No, she left half an hour ago to a neighboring village to teach those self-defense classes of hers," Mark answered, "She should be back by nightfall, if you plan on staying long."

Alucard nodded, looking forward to the night. "You usually aren't awake this early, Mark. What's going on?" he inquired.

"Oh, Adelina Petre went into labor last night and Raisha has been in her home helping deliver the baby," Mark explained, "I haven't been able to sleep all night. Raisha told me to join her come sunrise."

"Well, you go on ahead and join your wife," Alucard instructed, "I'll deliver these cases to Dr. Lobont and join you shortly."

Mark nodded as he headed toward the Petre's home to assist his wife with her work. It only took Alucard a short time to reach the house where Dr. Lobont lived and worked. Alucard could smell some strange concoction brewing when he entered the building and knew now was not the time to bother the man, so he left the briefcases just inside the front door of the building and left, shutting the door behind him. Alucard then began to walk toward the building Mark Belmont had entered about five minutes before.

* * *

About an hour after dawn on July 11, 1385, the attention of all the inhabitants of Radal Castle was quickly drawn to one sound: the screams of a woman. Most of those who now resided in the castle had heard this sound before, the screams of a woman in excruciating pain. However, very few had experience with the actual cause of this pain. The woman was not undergoing torture, at least not in the usual sense of the word. In fact, this woman was quite excited that this pain had come at last.

When Lisa had joined Count Dracula in marriage on August 25, 1384, no one knew what to expect from the union, not even Dracula or Lisa themselves. Many of Dracula's servants, composed almost entirely of reanimated corpses and Dracula's fellow creatures of the night, doubted that the two could even have children together. Others thought Lisa could conceive, but that the child would be stillborn due to Dracula being undead. The latter was the opinion held by most of the succubi, whose children were always born dead, even when the father was human. However, this made childbirth for them almost completely painless apart from the slight pains from the birth contractions. When it became apparent that Lisa was pregnant, the succubi assumed that what happened with them would happen to Lisa as well.

A third line of thought was that Lisa would not only conceive a child, but that the child would be born alive. In addition, the child would appear to be a human baby to an untrained eye. The most notable denizen of the castle that argued this was the leader of the medical staff, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who claimed to have dealt with a situation like Lisa's years ago. He argued that it didn't matter that Dracula was undead; it was the vessel that counted. Needless to say, the brash way he said that earned him the ire of most of the castle's female members for a good while.

Lisa was being served breakfast by one of her personal servants, a succubus named Laura. Lisa was particularly fond of Laura, as she showed her mistress nothing but respect while most of the other succubi in the castle always seemed to show some resentment toward their master's wife. Lisa had asked Laura about this once and Laura's explanation was that the others felt that Lisa had, more or less, cut in line in getting Lord Dracula's attentions. Laura didn't feel this way, however. She was one of the more recent additions to the castle's population and still understood the feelings that mortals had. And Lisa herself would have argued that there was nothing she could do about the Count himself calling her up to the castle.

"Here you are, mistress," Laura greeted as she entered Lisa's chambers with a tray of food, "Your breakfast."

"Thank you, Laura," Lisa responded from her bed, which became harder and harder for her to leave as her pregnancy continued. She was still wearing her white nightgown but had removed the blankets that were covering her through the night.

Laura brought the tray over to Lisa and set it down over her chest, its vertical legs elevating the tray above Lisa's body. Most of the castle's residents had no need for the food Lisa required, so growing her food wasn't that great a problem. On the tray were two small, warm loaves of bread, a glass of milk and an apple, which was Lisa's favorite food. It didn't seem like much, but it seemed to provide Lisa with what she needed before lunchtime, at least before she became pregnant.

"Is my husband asleep now?" Lisa inquired.

"Probably," Laura answered as she flapped her wings when she felt them falling asleep on her again, "That's Carmilla's area of knowledge, though, not mine. Lord Dracula has always been fond of her."

"Fond?" Lisa inquired pointedly, "Are you telling me that he's been sleeping with her?"

"Not since he met you, mistress," Laura clarified, "The master is extremely loyal to you. But Carmilla has been his servant for almost two centuries. As for the past, well, when you know you have an eternity to wander the Earth, it can get very lonely. You have to take whatever relationships you can find and keep them going for as long as you can."

Lisa had never thought of her husband in that way, but what Laura had just said made her tear up a little. She knew her husband had been wandering the Earth for about 300 years from when his first wife died until he found her. It was no wonder he cherished Lisa so much, for man wasn't meant to live alone. Indeed, immortality was a curse, not a blessing. Before now, Lisa had heard stories of vampires who committed suicide by exposure to sunlight and thought of them as weak beings. She now understood that an eternity alone was the ultimate punishment God could give to a human being.

Lisa was so numb from all this that she never noticed what Laura saw a few moments later. Laura turned to look at Lisa again and saw her eyes staring off into space, getting heavy with tears. But before she could ask about this, she then saw that part of the white nightgown her mistress was wearing had turned dark, as if suddenly filled with water. Her immediate reaction was that Lisa had lost control of her bodily functions, and she was right. Just not in the way she initially thought. "Um, mistress, your clothes are getting wet," she pointed out with a little hesitance.

Lisa broke out of her trance and looked at Laura. "What do you mean?" she inquired immediately, knowing that she hadn't lost that much control over herself.

"Well, just look at yourself, mistress," Laura answered with a gesture. She wasn't normally one to beat about the bush, but she was always this way with Lisa.

Lisa glanced down at herself and saw her dampening clothes. She knew what she saw was one of two things. And she would have felt one of them happening before this point. She suddenly gasped.

"Mistress, are you okay?" Laura inquired with concern as she hurried to Lisa's bedside.

"My water broke!" Lisa explained, "The baby is coming now!"

"What should I do?" Laura asked quickly, having never encountered this situation before.

"Go get the doctor, and please hurry!" Lisa ordered, "Then go and have Carmilla wake my husband and bring him here."

"Yes mistress! I'll be right back!" Laura answered as she rushed out of Lisa's chambers and began to rush through the corridors of the castle toward a nearby tower which had been called the "Machine Tower" because of all the strange devices there, mostly created by Dr. Frankenstein himself in his experiments or in order to serve him. It would have been faster for Laura to fly outside of the castle to the tower, but the daylight prohibited her from doing that.

It took Laura about five minute to reach the doctor's laboratory. She quickly burst through the wooden door and found Victor bent over another one of his experiments. He glanced her way briefly and then returned to his work. "Laura, you have five seconds to either get the hell out my lab or give me one hell of a good reason why you are here," he threatened.

Normally, Laura would have engaged in some witty banter with Victor, but she didn't have time for that now. "Doctor, the mistress is going to give birth!" she exclaimed.

This caught Victor's undivided attention. He stood up and gave his full attention to Laura. "Did her water break yet?" he inquired.

"Yes, it just did!" Laura answered.

"Then lead the way! We must hurry!" Victor replied quickly as he grabbed a package he had prepared for this day, "And go get the Master once we get to her."

"Yes, I was going to anyway," Laura replied as she led the way back to Lisa's chambers.

It took another five minutes for the two to rush back to Lisa's bed. Once there, it was clear to Victor that Lisa's child wanted to get into the world very quickly. The mistress was already in a state of physical distress that normally takes several hours to get to for humans.

"Mistress, just try to relax," the doctor ordered as he moved toward Lisa's legs and opened his package and pulled out a few surgical instruments and placed them on the bed, "Everything is going to be fine."

"My husband," Lisa said between her deep breaths, "Please get him."

"I'm on my way," Laura answered as she left the room again.

"Alright mistress, what I need you to do now is..." Victor began.

"Doctor, I have helped others with this," Lisa interrupted, "I know what to do."

Victor nodded. "Alright, that should make things easier for us," he said as he adjusted Lisa's nightgown slightly to facilitate the process, "But from the looks of it, your baby wants to see you very soon. You are already at an advanced stage of childbirth."

Lisa nodded. "I prayed that this would be quick," she explained.

"Well, it seems that God still listens to your prayers," Frankenstein replied with a smile. It was rare to see God's help around here.

Meanwhile, Laura hurried up a nearby tower of the castle where the master slept during most days. The spiral staircase she had to go up prohibited her from using her wings to fly up the tower. She knew Dracula was at the top of the tower she was trying to scale, but she was hoping to run into Carmilla before that. And after a few minutes, she finally found Count Dracula's favorite servant, the succubus Carmilla. Her red corset and wings made her stand out from the others. Laura didn't like dealing with Carmilla, as she had a rather arrogant attitude that just rubbed her the wrong way.

"Laura, what are you doing here? I did not call for you," Carmilla commented.

"Carmilla, is the master asleep?" Laura inquired quickly.

"He has been sleeping for the past hour," Carmilla answered, "Tell the mistress that she must wait until sundown for him."

"Carmilla, she's giving birth!" Laura exclaimed, "The master must be roused now! I must go back to the mistress now. Send the master as soon as you can!"

This revelation shocked Carmilla into a temporary paralysis as Laura rushed back down the staircase. She knew this event would come, but she was still caught unprepared for it. Knowing that her master would want to witness this, she turned and entered the master's chambers, where a wooden coffin lay on a stone platform so that a grown adult didn't have to bend over to open the lid. The coffin was seven feet long and had the classic hexagonal shape. It was wide and tall enough to allow one inside to roll over without opening the top at all. This was a key to the coffin's design. Carmilla knew this as she grasped the lid and threw it open.

Count Dracula was sleeping inside the coffin, but this rest was designed to end the moment the lid of the coffin was opened. It was a safety device which would allow him to defend himself in the case of an enemy opening the coffin. Dracula opened his eyes and saw Carmilla looking at him.

"Why have you disturbed my sleep, Carmilla?" he inquired as he sat up.

"A thousand pardons, my lord, but according to Laura, your wife is giving birth," she answered blandly.

Dracula's response was anything but bland. Upon hearing the news, he practically jumped out of his resting place and hit the floor running out of the room, nearly breaking the metal hinges that attached the wooden door to the stone wall. As he rushed down the stairs, Carmilla was once again left temporarily paralyzed at this power that seemed to bind her master to his wife. Of course, Carmilla knew what love was, but she had never truly experienced it in her past life. As many put it, she had a heart of stone, taking what she wanted and not giving thought to the well-being of others. Dracula was the only person who she actually was loyal to, having been saved from certain death by him over 200 years prior. Although she had long ago paid off her life debt, Carmilla had developed a certain connection with Dracula that seemed to be mutual, at least until Lisa arrived. Although Carmilla would never admit it to anyone, she was jealous of Lisa and hated her for how she connected so well with her master.

Carmilla broke out of her trance after a few minutes of deep thought and began to make her way to Lisa's chambers.

Meanwhile, Dracula had arrived in his wife's chambers to find his beloved Lisa breathing hard and quickly, preparing herself for the pain she knew was about to come. She turned toward the source of the sound she heard and found her husband looking back at her, his gray eyes filled with a need to be close to his wife in her time of need.

"My love, are you alright?" Dracula asked as he walked to her side.

"Now that you are here, I feel much better," Lisa replied as she gave Dracula her left hand to hold, "Though your hand is cold to touch, it fills me with warmth to know you are here with me."

Dracula nodded as he stared into his wife's eyes. "Are you ready to welcome our child into the world?" he asked.

Lisa nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be," she answered, "This child wants to get out of me very quickly."

"Indeed, we're ready to begin the painful part of all this," Doctor Frankenstein added, "Mistress, whenever you are ready, please tell me."

Lisa took a few deep breaths before she said, "I'm ready doctor. Please start."

"Okay, when I tell you, start pushing the child out of you," Victor instructed, "One, two, three, push."

Lisa did as she was told, and the pain started shortly after. It wasn't great at first, causing Lisa to simply breathe a bit faster. But then the pain became excruciating. Lisa began to scream. To the residents of the castle, it sounded as if a prisoner were being tortured. As the pain continued, Lisa began to squeeze Dracula's hand extremely hard, eventually becoming a vice grip. He withstood the pain rather easily, but the strength of Lisa's grip surprised him greatly. He never thought she could be this physically strong.

This continued on for a little over an hour before, while Lisa was pushing and in great pain from doing so, Doctor Frankenstein shouted, "Wait, stop for a moment!"

Lisa did as she was asked, but the pain lingered. "What's wrong?" she asked between her quick breaths.

"Nothing is wrong," Victor corrected, "I see the top of the baby's head now. We're almost there. We just need to be a bit more careful now."

"Is the child alive?" Dracula inquired with a degree of concern.

"I can't be certain at this point, but from the speed this process has had, I would say that the child will be fine," the doctor replied, "Mistress, when I tell you to, start pushing again, but slowly. I just need to make sure that everything is going the right way. Alright, push."

Lisa did as she was told, and the pain came back in full force again, causing her to scream in pain as she felt her child move through her in the final stages of birth.

"And stop," Victor called and Lisa obeyed, "Things have gone perfectly, from what I can tell. Your child is just about ready to come out. Whenever you are ready, mistress, continue."

Lisa nodded, took a deep breath and immediately began pushing again, not wanting to waste anymore time with the pain of this process. As she continued pushing, she felt her child's every movement through her, approaching the point where he would enter the world. And finally, that moment came.

"I have its head!" Victor called as he supported the baby's delicate head, "You're almost done, Mistress! Just a little bit more!"

Finally, a minute later, Lisa felt her child leave her body completely. The pain lingered, but it was nowhere near what it had been before. Lisa signed with relief as she rolled over on her left side and took her husband's hand with both of hers. "Thank you, my Lord," she said.

"It is I who should be thanking you, my beloved Lisa," Dracula responded as he brought his face down to hers and shared a brief kiss. He then turned toward Doctor Frankenstein.

On cue, the small being in the doctor's arms began to cry out, declaring itself to be very much alive. The sound was much louder than Lisa had ever heard a newborn cry before. And she sighed in relief once again, knowing that her child would be fine.

"It's a boy," Victor said simply.

"Bring him to me," Dracula requested as he stretched his arms out toward the doctor.

Victor walked over to Dracula and laid the boy, now covered with a clean, white cloth except for his face, carefully into his father's arms. The child kept crying as Dracula stared at his son and a feeling of contentment spread through his body. However, he was curious about this child whose father and mother were so different from each other.

"Victor, what kinds of traits does my son have?" Dracula asked Frankenstein, who was having Laura help him pack up his things, "Or can you not be sure yet?"

"It is too early to tell for sure on most things," the doctor answered truthfully, then looked at the window of the room through which sunlight was now streaming into, "But there is one thing you can test if you want to risk it."

Dracula turned around and saw the light streaming into the room through the open window and knew what Victor was hinting at. Dracula had seen what prolonged exposure to sunlight would do to his kind. He had even contemplated letting himself burn to ashes on more than one occasion. Shifting the bundle he carried into his right arm, he walked toward the window and placed his exposed left hand in the path of the sunlight.

Lisa had never seen what happened before to a vampire when exposed to sunlight. At first, nothing appeared to be wrong. That only lasted a few seconds, then she gasped as she saw her husband's hand begin to release black smoke. Dracula pulled his hand back into the shadows once this began, but Lisa still saw the sores that began to appear on his hand. Though she knew they would heal quickly, the sight scared her for the well-being of her newborn son. And yet, she needed to know the answer as well.

"My love, this is your decision to make," Dracula stated, "We don't have to find out now."

But Lisa's mind was already made. "I need to know," she answered, "And so do you. We need to know who will raise him."

"We both will, but I won't let him be hurt, I swear it," Dracula replied as he removed the cloth covering his son's head, revealing his hair color to be a very pale shade of blonde, closer to white than even his mother's blonde colored hair. However, Dracula could already see the boy's teeth pointing out through his gums as he cried, showing that he had vampire teeth and, most likely, the ability to feed on blood. As he raised his son's head into the sunlight, he feared that the worst was about to happen.

However, even after a minute of sustained exposure, the only thing that changed was how loudly the boy was crying, which was going down slightly over time. Both Dracula and Lisa gave sighs of relief. "It seems the light has accepted him," Dracula stated as he lowered his son from the light and began to walk back toward his wife.

"Yes, but he will still have the ability to suck the blood of others as you do, my Lord," Victor stated, "However, he will also need a diet of normal foods to develop normally. He need not feast on blood at all, though I'm sure he won't be able to stay away from the stuff once he gets a taste of it. Blood is like a sugar-coated sweet to hybrids. Oh, and Mistress, be careful of his teeth when feeding him."

"His teeth?" Lisa asked as she took her son into her arms for the first time and looked at him. Instantly, his crying seemed to subside quickly. However, she did catch sight of the canines which had already punched through his gums. Lisa made a mental note to be careful about those.

"Send for me if you need anything, but you should be fine now," Victor said as he left the room. Laura left with him, sensing that the master wanted time alone with his new family.

Dracula was silent for a few moments as Lisa prepared to feed her newborn son, adjusting her gown to do so. Finally the words came to him as his son began to suckle, a smile crossing Lisa's face as he did for the first time.

"Lisa, this is so much more than I deserve to have," he began as he knelt down to be at eye level with his beloved, "When I lost Elizabetha, I thought that I would never love another ever again. For centuries, I lived alone, contemplating my own existence and how meaningless it had become. But now I look back on those times and I wonder how I could have ever thought such things. Lisa, you saved me. And now, you have given me a family. Truly, you have blessed me with all I do not deserve. There is no way I could ever thank you for all you have done."

Lisa was on the verge of tears from these words. "Vlad, all I can ask of you is this," she began as she looked into her husband's eyes, "Never abandon me, no matter what."

"I could never do that, Lisa," Dracula answered, "I'd rather die first."

Lisa smiled, but the next part would surely upset him. She took a deep breath before continuing. "And I also ask that you take care of our son when I am no longer around," she continued, "That's all I ask."

"Please don't speak in that manner," Dracula replied as he placed his hand on Lisa's forehead, which actually felt refreshing to Lisa as she was definitely feeling way too warm from her exertions earlier.

"Vlad, the day will come when I will leave this world," she said, "And when that day comes, I want to make sure that.... that... my goodness, we haven't even named our son yet!"

Dracula chuckled at this realization. "I think I'll let you name him, my love," he responded.

Lisa thought about this for a few moments, then came up with the answer. "Adrian," she said, "His name is Adrian."

"Adrian? Why that?" Dracula inquired.

"Is something wrong with Adrian?" she asked.

"No, I'm just curious," Dracula explained.

"It was my father's name," Lisa stated, "He died in a fire with my mother years ago, before you took me here."

Dracula nodded at this. "Fine then, Adrian Farenheights Tepes shall be his name," he declared.

Lisa smiled as she looked down at her son, who quietly fed from his mother. "He is so beautiful," she remarked as Dracula knelt by his wife again, "He has your eyes."

"But he has your looks," Dracula countered, "He'll look just like his mother."

"I love you so much, Vladimir," Lisa declared, "You've given me everything I could have ever wanted."

And with that, Dracula and Lisa shared a loving kiss. And it was at this moment that the couple felt the happiest together. And for the first time in centuries, Mathias Cronqvist found himself completely content with his lot in life. It was a feeling that would not last long less than a century later, he would become humanity's biggest threat.

* * *

"Congratulations Adelina," Raisha Belmont declared to the woman who had just given birth, "It's a girl."

Raisha handed the baby girl over to the new mother, who began to cry as she held her child in her arms and looked as she wailed for the first time. "I can't thank you enough, Raisha," she began, "I just wish Anthony were here right now."

"You did deliver a bit earlier than we expected, so it's understandable that he wasn't able to make it," Raisha admitted, "I'm so sorry for that."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Adelina replied, "These things happen nowadays. I'm sure Anthony will be delighted when he returns later today."

Raisha nodded as she began to grab her things. It was at that point that her husband walked into the room. "You're late," Raisha said with a smirk.

"Oh, I missed it?" Mark answered as he wrapped his arms around his wife and planted a brief kiss on her lips, "Sorry I wasn't here earlier, but I ran into a friend."

"What friend of yours is awake at this time of day?" Raisha inquired with a chuckle.

As if on cue, the door to the room opened again. This time, it was Alucard who walked through the door. Raisha had seen the hybrid vampire-human before multiple times, but he had a presence that she knew she would never get used to. And as she felt that presence, she knew who had just walked into the room without even having to look.

"I should have known it was you Mark was speaking of, Alucard," she greeted as she broke away from her husband, "You never seem to sleep at all."

"No, I do," Alucard assured, "I just don't have to sleep."

"You don't know how jealous I am of you, Alucard," Raisha admitted, "I mean, look at you. You must be nearly 700 years old and you don't look a day over 30. My God, no wonder my daughter has the hots for you."

The three of them shared a laugh at that. Indeed, Alucard knew that Julia Belmont was rather fond of him, but he didn't think of their relationship as anything serious. In Alucard's mind, Julia was simply trying to associate herself with everything that the Belmonts were about, namely vampires and hunting them down. She was an expert in almost every type of combat, armed and unarmed, obviously including the whip. And she loved to read the stories of her ancestors who had battled with Dracula. To Alucard's delight, she found Trevor to be her favorite ancestor.

"Adelina, will you need anything more," Raisha inquired.

"No, I should be fine now," Adelina replied, "But I'll call your house if I need anything."

Raisha nodded as she, her husband and Alucard left the new mother's house and began to walk back toward the Belmont house. "You must have important business to attend to here, Alucard," Raisha stated, "You don't come back here often now that your father is gone."

Alucard nodded. "I got the opium that Doctor Lobont requested," he replied, "Your son did a good job acquiring it and keeping his hands on it."

"Why do you say it that way?" Raisha asked warily.

"The dealers Justin contacted pulled tried to pull a double cross on him," Alucard explained, "Justin was shot, but the doctors tell me he will be fine."

Raisha took the news quite well, Alucard thought. She didn't make a noise, just nodded slowly as her eyes wandered slightly, coming to rest on her husband. What Alucard didn't know was that this news was nothing new to Raisha, who lost all three of her older brothers to violence before she had even turned 14. All three had been convinced to join Islamic Fundamentalist groups. Two died as suicide bombers. The third was killed during a failed raid on the Golan Heights, slayed by Israeli soldiers. It was this incident that convinced Raisha that she needed to escape from this life of violence and endless revenge. She got into nursing, which turned out to be her key to a better life in Europe. She had never returned to the Middle East since she left Syria at age 17.

"Come, my dear, lets go home and talk about this," Mark offered to his wife.

"It's alright, Mark, I'm fine," Raisha replied as she embraced her husband, "The doctors said Justin will be okay. But I do need something to eat. Please join us, Alucard. Julia will certainly want to see you once she returns."

Alucard followed the Belmonts into their home and he shared a few of his stories with them.

* * *

Like Warichylia and the ghost village of Tranlya, the village of Francia was located in Brasov County in central Romania, lying on the boundary between Wallachia to the south and Transylvania to the north. To call Francia a village was a bit misleading; over 5,000 people called it home. However, Francia definitely looked more like a medieval village than an modern suburb, all less than an hour's walk from the city of Brasov.

And it was in this village that 24-year-old Julia Belmont was about to wrap up a self defense class she gave once a week to the young people of the village. There was no doubt around the village of Julia's prowess in how to fight. Her heritage as a Belmont was well-known in these parts of the country. And she had proven her skills on multiple occasions before. Despite the fact that Dracula's Castle had been gone from Romania for 75 years, the creatures of the castle continued to exist in the nearby forests and threatened the villages every now and then. Julia had taken down her fair share of these creatures, including one 12-foot-tall troll whose skull was now her wall decoration. She was particularly proud of that achievement, as that troll had been wreaking havoc for a month before she finally tracked it down and killed it.

"Alright everyone, that's enough for today," Julia announced as she brought today's session to an end and began to put her equipment back in her large, white cloth bag, "I'll see you next week at the same time."

Everyone nodded as they broke up into various groups. It only took a few minutes for Julia to finish packing her things and then she began the two hour walk back to her home. It was a long walk, but she didn't really mind it. Julia kept herself in peak physical condition, so the long walk was nothing she couldn't handle. She knew that her ancestors lived in these forests, protected only by the clothes on their backs and whatever natural cover they could find, for months at a time and still managed to defeat all manner of evil beings wherever they went. In her mind, Julia had no right to complain about her life of comparative luxury to how her predecessors lived, though she certainly wouldn't want to live like they did.

Except for one thing.

About an hour and a half into her walk home, Julia stopped as she reached the peak of a small hill. There were no trees growing up here, so she caught sight of a wonderful view of the central Romanian countryside from this place. Indeed, this hill was something of a spiritual place for Julia. Sometimes, she would come here to contemplate things or just to be alone for a while. More than once, she had fallen asleep under the night sky here. In this place, Julia felt at peace with herself and the world.

As she looked around at the world around her, she finally turned to gaze to the north. And in that direction, her eyes fell upon a clearing of trees in the distance atop another small peak. And though it was barely visible from this distance, Julia knew exactly what sat at the center of this clearing. It was the remains of Dracula's fortress, Castlevania. The clearing around the castle's ruins had actually shrank over the past 75 years as the trees were allowed to grow again in soil that was once tainted by evil.

And it was at this point that Julia Belmont was jealous of her ancestors. She knew that she would never have the chance to see Castlevania in its foreboding magnificence. She would never have the chance to prove her strength against Dracula's evil minions. And she would never have the chance to prove herself as a Belmont by defeating the evil Count Dracula. Julia knew it was for the best that Dracula was destroyed and his power broken by sealing his castle away where it could never rise on Earth again. However, she was a vampire hunter through and through. And without a vampire to hunt, Julia felt rather out of place in this new world.

Julia sighed as she turned away from the sight and started walking toward home again. What she didn't know was that fate would soon send her on the journey she had always dreamed of taking, but would also lead to a great tragedy that would cripple her for the rest of her life.

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, I know this chapter's flow is a bit odd, but I found this to be a hard chapter to write, with a lot of "Where do I go from here?" moments. Hopefully, future chapters won't be as awkward to write.

Speaking of the future, I think it would be best if I go back to focus on my Harry Potter story for now and finish that one off before returning to this one. So this may be the last update for a while. While I do intend to finish this story, I have a lot of other things on my mind that I need to get straight, such as finding a real job despite this economy continuing to drift toward self-destruction.

Well, that's about all for now, I guess. Until next time, read, review and enjoy.


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